Discrimination

Long before the introduction of laws which banned discrimination, Bindmans had a tradition of creative legal challenges on behalf of lesbian and gay clients, pursuing cases through the English Courts and at the European Court of Human Rights. Leading cases included successful challenges to the ban on gays in the military, and arguing for the rights of same sex partners to take over tenancies when a partner dies.

The European Court of Human Rights case of Christine Goodwin (2002) is widely recognised as a landmark ruling on behalf of transgendered people - the court decided that UK law was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and that transsexual people should have their acquired sex recognised. Since then, the Government has introduced gender recognition legislation, at last giving those legal rights to transgendered people. Find out more...

Following the introduction in 2003 of new legislation which outlaws workplace discrimination, we acted for clients in Employment Tribunal disputes where sexual orientation has led to unfair treatment, including dismissal. Many of these early cases have involved highly successful professional men and women and some have attracted international publicity. The history of discrimination law shows that as time passes and more cases are brought and fought, more and more people become confident in the ability of lawyers and the Tribunal system to understand the issues and to deliver justice to their cases. 

Civil partnership registration 
Transgendered people and civil partnership 
Discimination at Work
Personal Privacy